Fifteen!

My baby is fifteen years old!!!

When we were considering having another baby

at the ripe old age of 40

my mom said something to me

that helped me make that decision

and for which I will be forever grateful.

She said:

"You will never regret the ones you have,

only the ones you didn't have."

We can't even begin to imagine our lives

without our wonderful Matthew.

The Dreaded Durham Museum

President Kunz and I love the Durham Museum.

It always has wonderful "temporary" displays

that require intense study and reading of plaques.

Perhaps that is why our kids refuse to go with us.

On this particular trip we were able to persuade Matthew to come with us

on the condition that we stay for one hour and not a minute more.

We took all kinds of fun pictures of him

and then headed down to the newest display:

"The Pulitzer Prize Photographs."

These were pictures of events that literally changed

the histoy of the world!!!!!

They were incredible,

and required intense study and reading of plaques...

Matthew timed our visit down to the minute and

we were indeed out of there in one hour.

Needless to say, Milan and I need to go back

and read everything we missed.

Anybody want to come with us?

These Are a Few of Our Favorite Things

Sung to the tune of My Favorite Things:

"Daisy-like flowers on green colored cactus,

Stately gorillas with muscles so massive,

Trips to the zoo

with our two offsprings,

(ok, not so great, but...)

these are a few of our favorite things..."

ATTENTION:

The following is a revised rendition of the above stanza.

Thanks to my talented little sister...

humn, humn (clearing throat)...

Trips to the zoo

with our offspring of two

These are a few of my favorite things..........!

Goodbye to 17 Great Missionaries

Another goodbye...

L-R backrow: Elders Mohr, Vidrine, Burnham, Hudspeth,

Verhaaren, Springer, Shedden, Haslem, Mortimer and Osmond.

Front row: Elders Johnson, Payne, Plowman, Warby and

Sisters Christiansen, Itri, Stanger and Hale.

With this group we were sending home

the majority of the mission's leadership.

They were incredible missionaries

and really set the pace for the rest of us.

Making sure all is ready and within the proper weight.

Does a pillow count as a carry ons?

Two of our assistants left us also:

Elder Hudspeth,

and Elder Warby.

Wow, this is tough!

God bless you all, we love you

and miss you already!

Hello to 17 Great Missionaries

We took our seventeen new missionaries

to the Pioneer Courage Memorial

in downtown Omaha

to begin their mission orientation.

They loved it!

Our lovely new sisters.

Checking out the oxen.

Lining up for introductions to Elder Watson,

the Trail Center Director.

A 'Hurrah for Israel' before

their first experience out contacting with

experienced missionaries.

At the Pioneer Cemetary,

listening to President Kunz direction

to consecrate their lives

as their pioneer ancestors did.

Welcome to our newest missionaries!

L-R backrow: Elders Bown, Ward, Reynolds,

Robins, Jones, Faas and Fakai.

Middle row: Elders Stauffer, To'fohe, McGee,

Draper, Smith and Riha.

Front row: Sisters DuBois, Rhoades, Robertson and Atkin.

We are so glad to have you join our NOM family.

ZLC

Sitting in Zone Leader Council is an amazing experience.

There is nothing that compares to listening to these

incredible young people counsel together.

Their thoughts and ideas

are innovative, creative and inspired.

This is the future of the Lord's Kingdom

on Earth and it is in good hands!

Hello

Welcome to the Julanders from Bear River City, Utah.

They will be working with the facilities management group.

More wonderful, amazing, delightful people

to love.

Little Sisters

We have had many experiences on the mission

that have strengthened our conviction

that the Lord is mindful of His children and

that the world in indeed a very small place.

One of those experiences was having Sister Itri come to Nebraska.

We have known and loved her family since she was a little girl.

Sister Itri's father and President Kunz

served and worked together for many years.

Then 18 months ago, who should be assigned

to the Nebraska Omaha Mission?

That same little girl all grown up!

It has been a joy to get to know her again.

Here are many of our wonderful sisters.

They are strong, righteous women

who love the Lord.

I know their pioneer sisters are mindful of them

and feel a kinship with these, their little sisters

who are also sacrificing to build the kingdom.

Office Lunch and Goodbyes

Periodically we get to have lunch with the

wonderful office staff:

from L-R Sister Lund, Elder Lund, me and President,

Sister Taylor, Sister Sorenson, Sister Thompson,

Sister Trost and Elder Trost.

What talented, organized, efficient

and faithful people.

This mission would never last a day without them.

We combined this lunch with a farewell to our sweet

Sister Thompson who has been a lifesaver in her calling

and an absolute favorite with all the missionaries.

We love and miss you, dear one!

Capitol Building

We attended a preparation day activity with the Lincoln Zone

to the State Capitol Building.

This lovely building, constructed in 1932,

is filled with beautiful symbolism

of courage, industry and patriotism.

The ceiling is amazing.

We all decided that this tile work

is of a missionary doing his early morning studies.

Don't you agree?

The statue at the top is of a sower

planting his seed.

Perfect for Nebraska!

And here they are, on the steps of the capitol

looking G-R-E-A-T!

What a fun day!

Thanks, Elder Osmond, for all your preparation

to make this activity happen

and thanks for including us!

You're the best.

In the Footsteps of Giants

Recently our mission was privileged

to enjoy a visit from four general authorities:

Elder Christofferson, Bishop Edgley,

Elder Cook and Elder Reall.

They were here to attend several

Priesthood Leadership Councils,

Stake Conferences and also hold a

Missionary Fireside for all our missionaries.

We spent most of our time with Bishop Edgley

because we were assigned to accompany him

to the conference where he presided.

What an incredible man,

very down-to-earth, very funny

and a man of amazing intelligence

and inspiration.

We had lunch with all of them, toured around a little bit too

and then ended up outside the Winter Quarter's Temple.

All of our testimonies were strengthened

just being in their presence.

The missionaries are still talking

about their powerful counsel

and the strength of their testimonies.

Super Seniors

Here are many, but not all, of our senior couples.

I cannot imagine a more marvelous group of people

in all the world!

We are privileged to associate with them

and in so doing see the gospel in action.

These are people who have answered

the call of the Lord

and have left family and comforts

to proclaim His gospel.

These are people who have lived lifetimes of service

and sacrifice that have refined them to who they are today.

These are people who truly

"get it"

and oh how we love them.

Outside ZLC

The Council Bluffs Stake President

owns some incredible property which he

generously opens up to people who would like to use it.

We held one of our Zone Leader Councils there.

President Kunz taking advantage of

the comfortable chairs.

After some training we enjoyed lunch

and s'mores at the fire pit.

The assistant's training took us all over the area

using the landscape as object lessons.

Great training!

Elder Hoyt hurt his ankle earlier in the day

and required a little help from Elder Warby.

"Hey, he ain't heavy, he's my brother..."

We held a testimony meeting high on a hill

ending the day.

What an incredible group of missionaries!!!